Valve gear



Dec. 27, 1932. |=b W. VERNON 1,892,226

VALVE GEAR Filed March- 18. 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet l /lvvE/vroR /Qn/vc/s W. VERNON BY/f/LMJ H 7'7" ORNE YS Dec. 27, 1932.

F. w. VERNON VALVE GEAR Filed March 1s. leso 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 M/vEA/ToR A FkANc/s W. VERNON- ATTORNEYS Dec. 27, 1932. f w, VERNON 1,892,226

VALVE GEAR Filed March 18. 1950 5 SheetsSheet 5 IN VEN TOR FRANC/s W. VERNON @Y www ATTGRNEYS w. vgmom 1,892,226

VALVE GEAR Filed March 18, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheel 4 I /N VEA/TOR FRANC/s W. VERNON BY A ad ATTORNEYS F. w. VERNON 1,892,226

VALVE GEAR Dec. 27, 1932.

Filed March 18, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 /NVENTOR FRANC/s W. VERNON Y BY Musa/(Ag ATTCRNEYS Patented Dec. 27, 1932 UNITED STATES iaaaze PATENT OFFICE FRANCIS W. VERNON, 0E vAivooUvEn, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA VALVE GEAR My invention relates to improvements in valve gears which are particularly adapted for use in locomotives and other steam ena.; gines, which are'subjected to largely fluctuat- 5 ing load conditions.` The objects of the invention are to provide means under the direct control of the engineer whereby the steam cut off can be varied from an early to a late s point of the piston stroke, `to eiiect such m20 whereby all the .above objects' are attained equally well at 'forward and reverse directions.

In the conventional type of'valve mechanism the earlier the steam is cut off the greater is the compression, and if carried to extremes 5 will produce violent pounding which can only be overcome by-increasing the cylinder clearances which are a source of serious loss. By my system this disadvantage is entirely overcome.

The invention consists essentially of a steam engine having a piston typev valve slidable within a ported sleeve, which piston is actuated through a variable link movement, as will be more fully described in the following speci- 'ication and shown in the accompanying drawings. y

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of the cylinder and valve movement.

Fig. 2 is a detail view of the valve actuating movement. v

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view partly fractionated taken on the line 3 3 of Figure 2.

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view of the crank 45. and eccentric Vconnections corresponding to .the valve position as shown in Figure 1.

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view showing the vvalve gear adjusted to provide onedegree of expansion.

`50 Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view showing the Application filed March 18, 1930. Serial No. 436,795.

valve gear adjusted to provide another degree of expansion.

Figures 7, 8, 9 and 10 show the valve setting arranged to cut olf steam entry to the working cylinder at a quarter stroke, Figure 7 showing relative position of piston valve and sleeve at point of admission of steam; Figure 8 relative positions at point of out off; Figure 9 relative positions at commencement of cushioning, and Figure 10 relative positions at point of release. Figures 11, 12, 13 and 14 show the valve setting arranged to cut off steam entry to the working cylinder at half strokes, Figure 11 showing point .of admission; Figure 12 showing point of Vcut cit; Figure 13 showing commencement of cushioning,l and Figure 14 showing point of release. Figures 15,16, 17 and 18 are-diagrams showing equivalent 4eccentrics or cranks as defined by the valve operating mechanism corresponding to various positions of cut off.

In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in each figure.

The numeral 1 indicates generally a steam cylinder having heads 2, a pistonrod 3, a piston 4 and a tail rod 5. The cylinder is provided with a steam chest 6 having heads 7 and 8 and ported passages 9 for steam inlet i from the boiler and 10 for steam exhaust pipe. Steam inlet ports 11 and 12 are provided froni the steam chest tothe-front and rear ends respectively of the cylinder and ex- I haust steam ports 13 and 14 are provided respectively from the front and rear ends respectively of ,the cylinder to the steam chest 6. Slidably movable within the steam chest 6 is an open ended sleeve 15v having a conf, iiecting rod 16 extending outwards through the head 7 and having peripheral Yports 17, 18 and 19 which are adapted to be brought into and out of register respectively with the ports 9, 11 and 12 to admit the steam to the cylinder 1. v

Slidably movable within the sleeve 15 is `an open ended hollow piston valve 2O having enlarged end portions 21 and 22 having steam tight engagement with the inner walls ofthe sleeve 15. This piston valve is iitted with a l' Cil rod 23 which extends through a suitable gland in the head 8 and is supported at its outer end in a bearing 24. The piston rod 3 is itted to the usual crosshead 25 which is attached to a connecting rod 26 fitted to the main crank 27 (see Figures 4, 5 and 6). Associated with a. crank shaft 28 is an eccentric 29 (indicated by its centre in the diagrams) having .an eccentric `rod '30 pivotally attached at lits outer end to a fork 31 extending downwards from a centr-ally fulcrumed reversing link 32. Extending from the crosshead 25 is a fixed arm 33 to the free end of which a link 34 is pivotally connected and from the free Y end of this link a substantially vertical combination lever 35 extends upwards, which is "fulcrume'd latthe outer end of the sleeve rod 16 and is pivotally connected at its upper niendwvith a radius rod 36`having connection `with acrosshead 37 in the yreversing link 32.

The A"radiusrod 36 is-swingingly supported intermediate'its length by `a suspension rod 38 attached'to a bell crank 39, which is actuated r-manually from a suitable reverse lever, not C" shown.y Shdablymounted parallel `to the sleeve rod 16 and connected thereto is a push V`rod-40having'a suitableibearing41at its outer "end qIntermediatethe lengt-'h of the push `-rod 40an'd the piston valve-rod 23 are links 42 in which are pivotally mounted crosshead :blocks hrespectively numbered 43 and 44, Vshown :in-dotted line in .Figure 2. These 'crossheafdblocks arefheld in a slide 45 shown in fulli line-in' Figure 3 `and in "dotted line in Figure 2,"Which'y is'supported by opposed and spacedl'sidej plates 46 each Vhavingaltrunnion 47 fintermediate 'its length. vThe slide 45 'lower l'the vslide 45.

.passes through the links 42 whichlinks in '.turirpass'bet'ween the side plates`46.

'A suitably mounted bell Vcrank 48' which. is

adaptedto be manually operated from any convenient position,supports pair of rocking `ar1ns`49 which are connected at their lower ends to theI trunnions 47, so that the. raising Vand lowering of` the arms 49 willraise and Swingably .mounted from "lixedbearing points 50 is .a fork 51 which' is connected bya link 52` to the outer end `offthepiston tail rod 5. the upper extremities of'the'fork .51 are slotted to form slides 53 and are adapted to receive cross-` head blocks y54' iitted to the outer end of the trunnions 47, sothat when the 'rocking arms '49 arelowere'd the vfulcrum of the slide 45 .movesifdownwards' between the slides 53 and -the'lateral movement of said fulcrum is 1ncreased due to its position below the iixed pivotal point 50. It will be noticed that -sincethe pushy rod 40 is connected directly J with 'the sleeve valve rod 16 that the crosshead block 43 will moveat all times in concert with the sleeve. The block43 thus drives the up- Iper portion-of the slide -which is fulcrumed en 'the' trunnions47. inranv :desired position of adjustment, by means of Ythebell crank48,

5 and 6,v and is-the same in'both cases.

willimparta movementthrough the crosshead block 44 to the valve rod 23 'and the lpiston valve 20. It the fulcrum 47 of the slide .45 is high-orclose to .the fixed pivotal point the piston valve will be virtually Adriven by an eccentric movement Whose phase is well in advance of the main crank.

In-:mv gear`thefulcrum 47 of the link 45 is not fixed, but is given a horizontal movement'whose .magnitude can .be varied at will, being greater as the fulcrum -`47 of the arms 49 is lowered and thus taking a greater fraction'of the pistons movement as given to the tail rod'5 since the fulcrum 47 is now at a greater .distance below the ixedfulcrum 50 of the fork 51. At the same time the block 43 in the link 45 (see Figure 2) is still receiving the same movementin magnitude and phase as the sleeve 15 r(seelFigure 1). The'link 45 is thus driven bv two equi valent cranks or eccentrics one driving the block 43 and'having the same phase and .amplitude as the equivalent eccentric drivingr the main valve or sleeve '15 .andthe other having the same phase as the piston 4, but whose amplitude can be varied :as desired byLraising or lowering arms 49.

The block 44`and hence the piston valve 2O V"thus receives a movement which the vresult of .the combinedv movements of and the block 43. n g

Figure 15 represents diagrammatically the lequivalent `eccentrics or cranks correspondcranks corresponding to a late cut olf and the setting as shown inFigures 6,'11,f1.2, 13 and 14.

OC in .bothFigures 15 and'l represents the main crank27 (Figures 4, 5 and 6).

`O V represents .the equivalent crank driving the fulcrum 47 in Figure 5.

O`V1represents the equivalent crank driving the fulcrum47 in FigureG. O V1 is 0bviously greater than O V.

f O M represents the equivalent crankor eccentric driving the block v43 inboth Figures Now the ratio which is equal to distance from 44 to 43 divided by the distance' from 47 to 43 (see 'Figure 5) is constant for'all positions of the crank 27 as it rotatessince the blocks `43, 44` and theiulorum 47 all move horizontally; Hence. the point E in VFigure .15 may be found fromthe ratio E M di vided byV M (Fig. 5) equals distance 44to 43 divided bv distance 47 to V43 (Fig. 5). This Willgivethc point E. n K

O V is known. The value of O V is given by the relation O V (see Fig. 15) equals distance 50 to 47 divided by length of fork 51 times the radius of the main crank 27 (see vFigure 5). Thus the valve 20 (Fig. 5) is virtually driven by an equivalent eccentric of radius O E (Fig. 15) which is in advance of the main eccentric O M by the angle E O M. Now the valve 20 (see Figure 5) only controls the cut off and the latter will occur earlier the greater the angle E O M. In order to make the cut off occur later the block 47 is lowered as shown in Figure 6. This lowering of the block increases the magnitude of the equivalent crank driving the floating fulcrum 47 from O V (see Figure 15) to O V1 (see Figure 16). Also the ratio of the distance 44 to 43 divided by distance 47 to 43 is altered, being less than before. Hence the equivalent crank or eccentric O E1 driving the valve 20 can be found as before from the relation ElM divided by V1M (see Figure 16) equals distance 44 to 43 divided by distance 47 to 43 (see Figure 6). Now the angle E10 M is less than the angle E O M (sce Figure 15). Thus the virtual crank or eccentric O E1 driving the valve 2O (see Figure 6) leads the equivalent crank or eccentric O M driving the main valve 15 by a smaller angle than in the previous case, as given in Figure 5. Thus the valve 2O will cut off later if the setting is as shown in Figure 6 (and diagrammatically in Figure 16) than if the setting is as given in Figure 5. The arrangement thus virtually alters the angle of the equivalent eccentric from O E to O E1 and consequently the point of cut off can be varied at will. If the floating fulcrum 47 be lowered so far that its centre line coincides with the centre line of the block 44 then the whole of thel movement given to the valve 2O is now wholly derived from and exactly in phase with the main crank 27. This is shown diagrammatically in Figure 17. If, however. the fulcrum 47 is raised so that its centre line coincides with the centre line of the trunnion bearing 50 then the whole of the movement given to the valve 20 is derived from, but 180 degrees out of phase with the main valve eccentric O M. This is shown diagrammatically in Figure 18.

Assuming then that the fulcrum 47 is set slightly below the fixed fulcrum 50 as shown in Figures 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10, the sleeve valve 15 and the piston valve 20 will in passing through their movement to control one stroke of the piston 5 progressively assume the position shown in Figures 5, 7. S, 9 and 1() respectively. In Figure 6 the exhaust port 13 is fully opened due to the rearward movement of the sleeve 15, which also opens the inlet port 12 to admit steam to drive the piston 4 in a forward direction. the result of this piston movement causes the piston valve 2O to travel forwardly towards a cut off point which does not take place until both the sleeve and piston valves reverse their motions as shown in Figure 8. Subsequent to the cut ofi', expansion drives the piston 4 to the point shown in Figure 9, where the sleeve valve movement in a forward direction closes the exhaust port 13 to provide a cushion to the piston stroke which is maintained until the piston is about to commence its return stroke as shown in Figure 10. When the fulcrum 47 is set a greater distance below the fixed fulcrum the cut off is effected later than be' fore as is shown in Figure 12, the admission, cut off, cushion and release being shown in Figures 11, 12, 13, and 14 respectively.

What I claim as mv invention is:

1. In a steam engine, a steam chest having steam inlet ports communicating with a working cylinder, which cylinder is provided with a working piston and piston rod, a. sleeve valve having ports communicating with the steam inlet ports to the cylinder, a piston valve slidably mounted in the sleeve valve, a piston rod to said piston valve, a rod associated with the sleeve valve parallel to said valve piston rod, a rocking slide having a fulcrum, means pivotally connecting the slide on one side of the fulcrum with the rod associated with the sleeve valve and on the other side with the piston valve rod, and means for imparting movement to the fulcrum parallel to and between the piston valve rod and the sleeve valve rod in response to the movement of the working piston.

2. In a steam cylinder as claimed in claim 1 in which manual means is provided for varying the position of the fulcrum transversely to the piston valve rod.

3. In a steam engine, a steam chest having steam inlet and exhaust ports communicating with a working cylinder, which cylinder is provided with a working piston and piston rod, a sleeve valve having ports communicating with the steam inlet ports, a rod operativelyT connected with the sleeve valve and eX- tending beyond the steam chest, a piston valve slidably mounted `within the sleeve valve having a rod extending beyond the steam chest and parallel to the sleeve valve rod, a rocking link directly connected to each of said rods and a fulcrum for said link adjustable to a plurality of positions between said rods and means for moving said fulcrum parallel to said rods and in phase with the working piston.

Dated at Vancouver, B. C., this 5th day of February, 1930.

FRANCIS W. VERNON. 

